Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
Damn those coaches who are thinking long- term with their players. Damn them for protecting a player's health for the end of the season and into the NFL playoffs. And damn Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid for trying to instill discipline by benching star wideout DeSean Jackson.

Don't they know that I'm trying to win a fantasy championship?

In the City of Brotherly Love, their star wideout has become something of a problem child and its costing fantasy owners from coast-to-coast. Not to mention the Eagles won/loss record.

Jackson has been complaining about his modest contract for years, but until this season it had not effected his play. In 2010 he caught 47 balls for 1,056 yards (league-high 22.5 ypc) and six touchdowns while also returning a punt for a score. His dynamic play stretched defenses and helped the Eagles No.3 offense score 27.4 ppg.

But when the delayed training camps finally got underway, Jackson was a no- show, voicing his displeasure loudly and clearly that while the Eagles had spent millions on new players, he was not satisfied with his deal.

He has been disappointing fantasy owners and Eagles fans for most of the season, posting quality fantasy numbers in just three of the team's first eight games. But news that he missed a special teams meeting, not the first time this year, surfaced as coach Reid boldly decided to sit him for Sunday's game.

Reid, who has plenty of experience with "diva" wideouts (read Terrell Owens) is trying to get his star receiver to think about his team and not have his head filled with ugly agent and entourage images.

In the meantime, fantasy owners are stuck holding the proverbial bag. At this point, you can't get equal value for Jackson in a trade and you can't start him. As a third round draft choice (fantasyfootballnerd.com preseason ranking of 32), that's a lot of talent riding the pine.

In San Francisco, fantasy owners had forgotten that Frank Gore hadn't played a full season since 2006 and were blissfully enjoying the fruits of his five- game 100+ yard rushing streak. But Gore was quietly dealing with a sore ankle all last week and added a knee injury early in Sunday's key game against the New York Giants. He ended up getting on the field just one time in the second half and finished the game with zero yards rushing.

Ok, Gore got injured, that's nothing new, but what really hurt was after the game when the 49ers' running back said "he could have played."

"I'll be fine," Gore said. "I could have played, but coach (Tom) Rathman didn't want me to play. Be smart, he said, we've got a long season."

No its not! Doesn't Rathman know that the fantasy season has just three more weeks left before the playoffs begin?

The good news is that head coach Jim Harbaugh has already stated that he expects Gore to play in Week 11. But you might want to get some "insurance" by claiming Kendall Hunter off the waiver list this week just in case the head coach decides that at 8-1 he can afford to sit Gore to get him completely healthy. Damn those head coaches for looking at the big picture!

The Bengals also took the conservative approach with regards to their star rookie wideout A.J. Green. After hauling in a 36-yard touchdown pass over two Steelers defenders, he landed awkwardly on his right leg. He didn't hear a pop or anything, but he couldn't get the knee loose and he was kept out of the remainder of the game. Sure a win over Pittsburgh would have been huge for Cincinnati's playoff hopes this year, but the team was looking out for their talented rookie's future. Damn them...as the decision likely cost me a win this week.

I'm talking tongue-in-cheek, of course, because I believe that a player's health should come first and teams are smart to protect their investment. I just pray that next week it happens to my opponent's lineup, not mine.